1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a grain cart of the type used to transport and discharge harvested grain and other particulate agricultural products. The inventive cart is equipped with lower and upper discharge chutes and augers. The lower chute extends upward along the inside of the cart to a discharge opening which connects to an intake opening of the upper chute. The upper chute is connected to the cart via a swivel mount such that it can be rotated through an arc between a lowered transport position and a raised discharge position. Each auger is driven by an independent hydraulic motor.
2. Description of the Related Art
A variety of grain transport and discharge bins have been developed for agricultural use. Most modern combined thresher-harvesters incorporate a grain storage and discharge bin equipped with one or more auger driven discharge chutes. In these bins, it is typical for two or more augers to be driven by a single power source, such as the combine engine, for example. Generally the auger shafts in the plurality of discharge tubes are connected to each other via universal joints.
Truck mounted and trailer carried grain transport and discharge bins are also widely used. Often these bins will be used to offload grain from a combine or storage silo for transport to different storage or feeding locations. Again, it is typical for two or more discharge augers on such bins to be connected in series via universal joints and driven by a common engine or tractor power take-off drive unit. While this arrangement works reasonably well, typically an upper discharge chute must be capable of being rotated between an upright, discharge position and a horizontal, transport position. When the auger shafts are interconnected by a universal joint, rotational freedom of the upper discharge chute is restricted. Furthermore, in the case of tractor drawn grain carts, many large modern tractors are not equipped with power take-off drives, but, instead, with hydraulic fluid pumps, hose adaptors and control valves. Therefore, traditional grain carts with interconnected discharge chutes driven by a bottom-mounted PTO shaft will not work with these tractors.
Accordingly, it is clear that a need exists for an improved grain cart for the reliable transport and discharge of grain and other agricultural products. Such an improved cart should have lower and upper discharge chutes equipped with respective discharge augers, with the upper discharge chute being free to swivel between a secure storage position and a discharge position without being constrained by the drive system for either the lower or the upper discharge augers.